The top 5 seeds are out of the Billabong Pro Teahupoo

An amazing day of competition in 4-6ft hollow Teahupoo. The Irons brothers cruised into round 4 today looking so relaxed and at home in conditions which saw many of the worlds best look challenged. Parko took victory over rookie Tiago with an interference call that cost Tiago valuable points.

But the big news was the elimination in rounds 2 and 3 of the current top 5 ratings leaders.

• Mick Fanning lost in the 2nd round to Bruno Santos in one of the events lowest scoring heats.
  
• Jeremy Flores was taken out by an in form Chris Ward also in the second round.
  
• After an electifying round 2 clash with Jamie O'Brien Kelly slater went down hard at the hands of Manoa Drollet in round 3, 9.83 to 14.00
  
• Taj Burrows was taken down but an on fire Bruno Santos
• Chris Ward took out Bede Durbidge in the 3rd round with an amazing upset victory of 19.17 to 7.30

With the top 5 down early in the competition the door has swang wide open for Parko currently seeded just 12 points behind Jeremy Flores and Taj Burrows who share an equal 4th in the overall ratings.

Kelly Slater vs Jamie O'Brien round 2 heat Teahupoo

Both surfers opened up with a deep shack, but kelly through a nice roundhouse and a floater to come up trumps from the exchange, throwing down a 9.0 to O'briens 7.33.

The next exchange went to Jamie with a nice short barrel taken under Kelly's priority to post a 6.57. Kelly stroked into a weird monster next that slammed him in a foam cave scoring a 1.5 for his trouble and loosing his priority.

Kelly then went on to post a 5.33 an 8.07 and a 9.70 to put Jamie into nasty combo land. O'Brien sat patiently outside waiting for a wave that he could pull a 10 point ride, but never quite got there.

The heat went to Kelly Slater 18.70 over Jamie O'Brien 13.90

New Firewire Surfboards arrived today!

My buddy Danny and I have been like two kids waiting on Christmas for these firewire boards to make their way from LA to Japan and give them a hook. They turned up today and we just sat there frothing over the the shape, the lines, the rocker, the logo, the fins, the fin key, the bag the fins came in... I got a 6'4" alternator bump squash, Danny being a 6'3" tall solid dude opted for the 6'10" swallow tail Alternator. we laid them out on the lawn and just admired the way the sun gleaned off the deck, and then ripped open the tail grips we had bought the same day we ordered the boards and began to lay them out.
After the first surf in less than great waves here is what I thought of the firewire alternator:

Paddles like a 6'6" PU
Duck dives like a 5'10"
Light as hell yet stable through chop, I don't know how the hell they did it!




The minute my feet hit the deck this board exploded, I have never felt a board accelerate like this one! so light you only have to think about turning and it is already hitting the lip! I am sold on these boards so much that even at $700 if it broke tomorrow I would be placing an order for another one without hesitation!

If you are thinking about buying one, dont hesitate, the price may be a tad heavy, but you wont regret it!

For more information on these awesome boards check out FIREWIRE SURFBOARDS!

Jamie O'Brien Wins Wild Card Billabong Pro Teahupoo!

Hawaiian hotshot Jamie O'Brien has declared he's ready to take down Australia's world surfing champion Mick Fanning at next month's Billabong Pro after winning a wildcard into the event.

O'Brien, the 2006 Pipeline Masters champion, snatched victory from talented Brazilian Bruno Santos in the trials final contested in 2.5 metre waves at the treacherous Teahupoo reef break as he nailed a perfect ten-point ride in the last 40 seconds.

The brash Hawaiian faces a tough task in round one, pitted against countryman Pancho Sullivan and Mick Fanning, who is third in the current ratings behind eight-time world champion Kelly Slater and Queenslander Bede Durbidge.

"I'm not worried about it, barrel riding is what I do," O'Brien said.

"I travel the world so I can go and surf barrels. I'm down for the main event, I'll take them down."

It was a gutsy effort from Santos to put himself in contention in the decider after the 25-year-old was crushed in a close-out tube in his semi-final against Australia's Damien Wills.



Santos smashed into his surfboard, causing a nasty gash to his upper thigh, but simply taped the wound and then fought bravely in the 30-minute final against O'Brien.

He also earned a wildcard into the main event, the third on the world tour, starting May 8.

Wills placed third in Tuesday's trials and will start as first alternate for the Billabong Pro should any of the world's top 45 surfers withdraw from the contest.

American star Slater will take an iron grip on the world title race if he wins at the Teahupoo break after claiming the Australian leg of the 11-event tour with victories on the Gold Coast and Bells Beach, Victoria.

Another Beach Fatality - Surfer found Dead in Santa Cruz

Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Santa Cruz -- Another surfer has been killed in the waters off California, only this time it was not because of a shark, officials said.

Authorities say 43-year-old John M. Wagner of San Diego was found dead in the water about 20 miles south of Ventura Harbor on Friday. Wagner had been surfing with friends when for some unknown reason he went underwater around 5 p.m., according to a Coast Guard official. Park rangers, with the Channel Islands National Park, later found his body. An autopsy was being conducted in Santa Barbara County.

Wagner's death comes just four days after a shark killed a 24-year-old San Francisco surfer in Mexico and a week after a triathlete was killed by a shark in San Diego County. Adrian Ruiz bled to death after being bitten on the thigh April 28 while surfing off Troncones beach west of Alcapulco. It's not clear what species was involved in the attack but Mexico's Navy and maritime authorities had spotted two great white sharks nearby during helicopter overflights. Beachgoers were being warned about the sharks' presence near the largely undeveloped oceanfront.

66-year-old David Martin was bitten across both legs by a Great White shark on April 25 and bled to death before he was brought to shore on Solana Beach.

On Saturday, a group of triathletes who trained with Martin, ventured back into the ocean where the attack occurred. Sixteen members of the Triathlon Club of San Diego held a moment of silence in the water before swimming about a mile.

One of them said getting back in the water was a step in the healing process.

Martin's was the first shark fatality in San Diego County since 1994.